Design of Angle Columns with Locally Unstable Legs

Kim J. R. Rasmussen1

Abstract: The paper addresses the design of angle section columns whose legs are slender and thus subject to local buckling in their
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ultimate limit state. For such slender angle sections, the local buckling mode is identical to the torsional mode and traditional design
procedures become excessively conservative because they account for the torsional 共local兲 buckling mode twice. The paper describes
design methods for slender equal-leg angles which ignore torsion in determining the overall buckling stress and use recently presented
effective width equations to accurately determine the bending capacity of angle sections, as required in the beam–column design approach.
The shift in the effective centroid resulting from local buckling is determined from the actual stress distribution, as obtained using
Stowell’s classical solution, rather than the effective cross section. The columns are assumed to be simply supported and thus allowed to
rotate about their principal axes.
DOI: 10.1061/共ASCE兲0733-9445共2005兲131:10共1553兲
CE Database subject headings: Columns; Beam columns; Buckling; Design; Limit states; Steel structures.

Introduction shown in Figs. 1共a–c兲. In a concentrically loaded pin-ended col-

This paper concerns angles whose legs are slender and hence
prone to local buckling in their ultimate limit state. Traditionally,
angles were hot rolled and generally fully effective, i.e., capable
of supporting the full yield stress in compression. However,
angles are increasingly being manufactured by cold forming, and
cross sections are becoming increasingly slender. It is now com-
mon to find standard slender sections in product catalogues of
cold-formed angles.
The warping constant 共Iw兲 of angles is negligible as it is de-
rived from secondary warping and, in the case of cold-formed
angles, the slight effect of rounded corners. Consequently, angles
are weak in torsion, and the common overall buckling mode is a
flexural–torsional mode at short and intermediate lengths, which
may change to a minor axis flexural mode at intermediate and
long lengths for an equal-leg angle. At short lengths, the flexural–
torsional buckling load approaches the torsional buckling load,
which, for an equal-leg angle, is identical to the local buckling
mode. Slender equal-leg angles, therefore, pertain to the unique
class of sections for which the local buckling mode is the same as
the critical overall bucking mode at short lengths. Conventional
design procedures become excessively conservative for this class
of sections because they account for the torsional 共local兲 mode
twice: through the member strength provisions and through the
effective width provisions.
Further complications arise as a result of local buckling of a
slender section: The stress redistributes in the section and the
resultant of the stress becomes eccentric to the centroid 共C兲, as
1
Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Univ. of Sydney, Sydney
NSW 2006, Australia. E-mail: k.rasmussen@civil.usyd.edu.au
Note. Associate Editor: Sherif El-Tawil. Discussion open until March
1, 2006. Separate discussions must be submitted for individual papers. To
extend the closing date by one month, a written request must be filed with
the ASCE Managing Editor. The manuscript for this paper was submitted
for review and possible publication on August 26, 2003; approved on
March 1, 2004. This paper is part of the Journal of Structural Engineer-
ing, Vol. 131, No. 10, October 1, 2005. ©ASCE, ISSN 0733-9445/2005/
10-1553–1560/$25.00.
umn, the eccentricity 共e0兲, referred to as the shift in the effective
centroid 共Ce兲, leads to overall bending 共Rhodes and Harvey 1977兲
because the external load becomes eccentric to the internal stress
resultant under uniform compression, implying that local buck-
ling must be accompanied by overall bending. The column is also
sensitive to small eccentricities of loading. A load applied with an
eccentricity 共e P兲 towards the free edge of the flanges 关Fig. 1共d兲兴
can significantly reduce the strength of the column because it
triggers local buckling at a reduced load. Conversely, applying the
load towards the corner enhances the strength for moderate ec-
centricities.
To account for the effect of the shift in the effective centroid,
current provisions of the North American Specification 共NAS
2001兲 and the “Australian cold-formed steel structures standard”
共AS/NZS 1996兲 specify that slender angle columns are to be con-
sidered concentrically loaded when the force passes through the
effective centroid, rather than the gross section centroid. Further-
more, it is required to account for an additional moment of P
⫻ L / 1 , 000. 关The additional moment is also required to be applied
to nonslender angels in the 1996 edition of the AISI Specification
and the 1996 edition of AS/NZS4600. However, research by Pop-
ovic et al. 共1999兲 has shown that the additional moment is not
required for nonslender angles and amendments to these specifi-
cations have recently been balloted which now only require the
eccentricity to be applied to slender angles.兴 As a result, slender
angle columns are inevitably required to be designed as beam–
columns.
In designing an angle strut as a beam–column, it is required to
compute the bending capacity, which for a slender angle involves
determining the effective width of a flange element 共or unstiff-
ened element兲 under stress gradient. Current provisions 共AS/NZS
1996; NAS 2001兲 conservatively treat unstiffened elements under
stress gradient as if subjected to uniform compression. This pro-
cedure leads to low bending capacities and hence conservative
beam–column capacities. However, recent research 共Bambach
and Rasmussen 2002a,b兲 has produced accurate effective width
equations for unstiffened elements under stress gradient, as de-
scribed in the following sections. This paper demonstrates how
the improved effective width equations can be combined with a

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J. Struct. Eng., 2005, 131(10): 1553-1560

 by in-plane bending and yielding prior to flexural–torsional
buckling for all practical equal-leg angle sections.

Design Provisions for Equal-Leg Angles

Current North American Specification and Australian

Standard/New Zealand Standard4600 Provisions

Compression
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According to the American and Australian specifications for cold-

formed steel structures 共AS/NZS 1996; NAS 2001兲, the strength
of a concentrically loaded column is calculated as
Fig. 1. Simply supported angle column P n = A eF n 共4兲
where Ae⫽effective area calculated at the inelastic column buck-
simple equation for the eccentricity 共e0兲 induced by the shift of ling stress 共Fn兲

冦冋 冧
the effective centroid to produce an accurate design procedure for 2
关0.658␭c 兴Fy for ␭c 艋 1.5

册
slender angles.
Fn = 0.877 共5兲
Fy for ␭c ⬎ 1.5
␭2c
Elastic Buckling Loads for Equal-Leg Angles

Compression ␭c = 冑 Fy
Fe
共6兲

According to classical theory 共Timoshenko 1945; Chajes and In Eq. 共6兲, Fy⫽yield stress and Fe = min兵Fext , ␴ey其⫽lower of the
Winter 1965兲, the flexural–torsional buckling stress of a simply flexural–torsional buckling stress given by Eq. 共1兲 and the minor
supported singly symmetric column is given by axis flexural buckling stress

共␴ex + ␴et兲 ± 冑
共␴ex + ␴et兲2 − 4␴ex␴et 1 − 冉 r20
x20
+ x20
冊 ␴ey =
␲2EIy
A共KyL兲2
. 共7兲

冉 冊
Fext = 共1兲
x20
2 1−
r20 + x20 Bending
1. The flexural–torsional buckling moment for an equal-leg
where ␴ex and ␴et⫽major axis flexural and torsional buckling
angle subjected to uniform bending with compression at the
stresses, respectively; x0⫽distance from the centroid to the shear
free edge of the flanges is given by
center; and r0⫽polar radius of gyration. As shown in Rasmussen
共2003兲, the torsional buckling stress 共␴et兲 of an equal-leg angle M n = S cF c 共8兲
section reduces exactly to the local buckling stress
where Sc⫽elastic section modulus of the effective cross sec-

Fcr =
k␲2E t
12共1 − ␯2兲 B
冉冊 2
共2兲
tion corresponding to bending; and Fc⫽inelastic flexural–
torsional buckling stress determined as

冦 冧
6共1 − ␯兲 Fy for ␭b 艋 0.6

冋 冉 冊册
k= 共3兲
␲2 10␭2b
1.11 1 − Fy for 0.6 ⬍ ␭b 艋 1.336
where E⫽elastic modulus; ␯⫽Poisson ratio; t⫽thickness; and Fc = 36
B⫽共flat兲 plate width. The plate buckling coefficient 共k兲 given by Fy
Eq. 共3兲 is the asymptotic value obtained for a length-to-width for ␭b ⬎ 1.336
␭2b
ratio approaching infinity. It takes the value of 0.43 for a Pois-
son’s ratio of 0.3. 共9兲

Bending
For slender equal-leg angles bent in the plane of symmetry, it can
␭b = 冑 Fy
Feb
共10兲

be shown 共Rasmussen 2003兲 that:
1. when bending causes compression at the free edges of the
flanges, the flexural–torsional buckling stress becomes the
torsional buckling stress for bending which is twice the tor-
sional buckling stress for uniform compression and
2. when bending causes compression at the corner, the flexural–
torsional buckling stress is so high that the section will fail
In Eq. 共10兲, Feb is the elastic flexural–torsional buckling
stress for bending about the y axis.
In determining the effective section modulus 共Sc兲 of an
equal-leg angle bent in the plane of symmetry, the unstiff-
ened flanges have tension at one edge and compression at the
other. For such elements, the current provisions of the NAS
Specification and AS/NZS4600 require the effective width to

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J. Struct. Eng., 2005, 131(10): 1553-1560

 Fig. 2. Eccentricities of loading of cold-formed angle section
be calculated as if the elements were subject to uniform com-
pression, i.e., using Eq. 共2兲 with k = 0.43.
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2. When torsion is ignored, the bending strength is to be calcu-
lated as the section strength
M n = S eF y 共11兲
where Se⫽section modulus of the effective cross section cal-
culated for the extreme tension or compression fiber at yield.
Combined Compression and Bending
A column is considered to be concentrically loaded if the line of
action of the applied force 共P兲 passes through the centroid of the
effective cross section, calculated at the buckling stress 共Fn兲. If
the load is applied with an eccentricity 共e兲 relative to the effective
centroid, the column shall be designed as a beam–column for the
compression force 共P兲 and a moment 共M y兲
M y = Pe.
It is common practice to measure the eccentricity of the force
共12兲
from the gross section centroid, in which case
e = ee + e P 共13兲
where ee⫽distance between the centroids of the gross and effec-
tive cross sections, and e P⫽distance from the gross section cen-
troid to the line of action of the applied force, as shown in Fig. 2.
For slender angles, the NAS Specification and AS/NZS4600 re-
quire the member be designed for an additional eccentricity 共eL兲,
i.e.
e = ee + e P + eL 共14兲
where
L Compression at Supported Edge
eL = 共15兲
1,000
Since, generally, e ⫽ 0, a slender angle is required to be designed
as a beam–column subjected to equal and opposite end moments
共M y兲, 共uniform bending兲. Omitting resistance factors, the interac-
tion equation is
P Cmy M y
+ =1 共16兲
Pn M ny␣y
where Cmy = 1 for uniform bending and the amplification factor
␣y = 1 − P / PEy involves the Euler load for flexural buckling about
the y axis. Eqs. 共12兲 and 共16兲 lead to a quadratic equation for P.
New Effective Width Equations for Unstiffened
Elements under Stress Gradient
General
As mentioned in the previous section, the current provisions of
the NAS Specification and AS/NZS4600 treat unstiffened ele-
ments under stress gradient as if subjected to uniform compres-
sion. Accordingly, the plate buckling coefficient is to be taken as
JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / OCTOBER 2005 / 1555
J. Struct. Eng., 2005, 131(10): 1553-1560
Fig. 3. Definition of design stresses 共f 1 , f 2兲
k = 0.43. This approach leads to conservative estimates of the ef-
fective width and hence, the section modulus of the effective
cross-section in bending 共Sc兲 and the bending strength 共M n兲 are
conservatively predicted, as given by Eq. 共8兲.
Based on recent research 共Bambach and Rasmussen 2002a,b兲,
accurate effective width equations have been obtained for unstiff-
ened elements subjected to in-plane bending. When applied to
angles, the equations can be summarized as follows:
Compression at Unsupported Edge
When bending causes a compressive stress 共f 1兲 at the unsupported
edge, as shown in Fig. 3共a兲, the effective width is obtained using
a slenderness reduction factor ␳ = b / w given by
␳= 再 1
共1 + ␺兲共1 − 0.22共1 + ␺兲/␭ p兲/␭ p
for ␭ p 艋 0.673共1 + ␺兲
for ␭ p ⬎ 0.673共1 + ␺兲
冎
共17兲
where ␭ p = 冑 f / Fcr is determined for f = f 1 and with Fcr calculated
from Eq. 共2兲 with k given by
k = 0.57 + 0.21␺ + 0.07␺2 共18兲
In Eqs. 共17兲 and 共18兲, ␺⫽numerical value of the stress ratio
␺= 冏冏
f2
f1
共19兲
which is approximately unity for an equal-leg angle in bending,
i.e., k = 0.85.
When bending causes a compression stress 共f 1兲 at the supported
edge, as shown in Fig. 3共b兲, the effective width is obtained using
a slenderness reduction factor ␳ given by for ␺ ⬍ 1
再 冎
1 for ␭ p 艋 0.673
␳= 共20兲
共1 − ␺兲共1 − 0.22/␭ p兲/␭ p + ␺ for ␭ p ⬎ 0.673
for ␺ 艌 1
␳=1
where ␺ is given by Eq. 共19兲, and ␭ p = 冑 f / Fcr is determined for
f = f 1 and with Fcr calculated from Eq. 共2兲 with k given by
k = 1.70 + 5␺ + 17.1␺2 共21兲
Shift of Effective Centroid
According to the NAS Specification and AS/NZS4600, the eccen-
tricity 共ee兲 arising from the shift of the effective centroid is to be
calculated as the distance between the centroids of the gross and
effective cross sections. For an equal-leg angle with sharp cor-
ners, this leads to the following expression:
 Table 1. Geometric and Material Properties of Wilhoite et al. 共1984兲 and Popovic et al. 共1999兲 Cross-Sections
B t ri A Ix
Section 共mm兲 共mm兲 共mm兲 共mm2兲
Wilhoite et al. 69.3 3.00 3.0 401
Popovic et al. 50.8 2.30 2.6 224
ee = 共B − be兲/共2冑2兲
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where be is obtained from the Winter equation using k = 0.43 in
determining Fcr. It is implicit here that the line of action of the
force in the locally buckled stated is assumed to be located at the
center of the effective width of the legs. However, while the ef-
fective width equations provide an accurate estimate of the
strength of unstiffened elements, they do not accurately predict
the location of the line of action of the force 共Young and Rasmus-
sen 1999兲. For an angle section, the shift of the effective centroid
共ee兲 is overestimated when using Eq. 共22兲.
It is difficult to accurately calculate the location of the internal
force of a general cross section because it involves the stress
distribution in the postbuckling range which, in turn, requires a
solution of the nonlinear von Karman equations. However, in the
case of an equal-leg angle in compression, the condition at the
corner is exactly that of a simple support, and the stress distribu-
tion can therefore be found from Stowell’s 共Stowell 1949兲 classi-
cal solution. As shown in Appendix II of Rasmussen 共2003兲, an
accurate estimate of the shift of the effective centroid of an equal-
leg angle can be obtained as
冦 冧
0 for ␭py 艋 1.22
␭ The pin-ended columns were loaded with a nominal eccentric-
e0 = 5 py − 1.22
for ␭py ⬎ 1.22
16冑2 ␭py − 0.22
where ␭py⫽plate slenderness calculated at the yield stress; ␭py
= 冑 Fy / Fcr. The shift of the effective centroid is denoted by e0 in
Eq. 共23兲, as distinct from the eccentricity ee which is based on the
centroid of the effective cross section.
Tests on Equal-Leg Angles with Slender Legs
Wilhoite et al. Tests
Compression tests on equal-leg angles with slender legs have
been reported by Wilhoite et al. 共1984兲 and Popovic et al. 共1999兲.
The tests are summarized as follows: The angles tested by Wil-
hoite et al. 共1984兲 were brake pressed from high strength steel
plates. The measured dimensions and measured value of yield
stress for the flats 共Fy兲 are shown in Table 1, see Fig. 4 for nota-
tion. Fixed-ended stub columns and three lengths of pin-ended
long columns were tested. The lengths of the long columns were
chosen so as to produce nominal L / ry values of 60, 90, and 120.
The pin-ended columns were nominally loaded through the cen-
troid of the gross cross section. However, a small clearance was
built into the pin-ended bearings to avoid locking, and an eccen-
tricity of loading may have been induced as a result of this clear-
ance. The bearings were manufactured to a tolerance that ensured
the induced loading eccentricity would not exceed 1 / 1 , 000 of the
length of the longest columns. The test strengths and column
lengths are shown in Table 2, as obtained from Fig. 18 of Wilhoite
et al. 共1984兲.
1556 / JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / OCTOBER 2005
J. Struct. Eng., 2005, 131(10): 1553-1560
Iy J x0 Fy E
共mm4兲 共mm4兲 共mm4兲 共mm兲 共MPa兲 共MPa兲
311,200 74,150 1,203 24.2 465 203,000
93,830 22,150 396 17.7 396 203,000
共22兲 Popovic et al. Tests
The angles tested by Popovic et al. 共1999兲 were cold rolled and
in-line galvanized to produce a nominal yield stress value of 350
MPa. The measured dimensions and mechanical properties are
shown in Table 1. Because of the cold rolling, the yield stress
varied across the cross section with the highest values obtained at
the corners. The measured yield stress value shown in Table 1
was obtained from the middle of the flat part of the legs.
Seven fixed-ended columns and ten pin-ended columns were
tested. The Le / ry values ranged from 7 to 130 and from 46 to 130
for the fixed-ended and pin-ended tests, respectively. For the pin-
ended columns, the effective length 共Le兲 is the sum of the speci-
men length and the total lengthwise dimension of the end bear-
ings. The effective length 共Le兲 is taken as half of the specimen
length for the fixed-ended specimens. The use of an effective
length of half of the specimen length accounts correctly for the
effect of fixed ends at long lengths, at which the column fails by
minor axis flexural buckling. However, it is less meaningful to
use an effective length of half of the specimen length at short
lengths because the critical overall mode becomes the flexural–
torsional mode, for which the torsional component is independent
of the length.
共23兲
ity of 1 / 1 , 000 of the column length relative to the gross section
centroid. Two tests were performed at each length: one where the
load was applied eccentrically towards the free edges of the
flanges 共causing increased compression at the free edges兲 and one
where the load was applied eccentrically towards the corner. Con-
sistently, the lowest test strength was obtained when the eccen-
tricity caused increased compression at the free edges. The geo-
metric imperfections were measured on all specimens, as detailed
in Popovic et al. 共1996兲, indicating an average overall minor axis
flexural imperfection of L / 1 , 305. The test strengths and column
lengths are shown in Table 3.
The loading eccentricity was introduced in the tests not for the
purpose of investigating the effect of a loading eccentricity but to
account for the effect of overall geometric imperfections of a
magnitude of a thousandth of the length. Accordingly, in the com-
parison with design loads, the columns are treated as loaded
through the gross section centroid.
Fig. 4. Nomenclature
 Table 2. Test Strengths reported by Wilhoite et al. 共1984兲; and effective cross sections. These main features of the design
Py = 186 kN, ry = 13.6 mm model are summarized in Table 4.
Test number Le 共mm兲 Le / r y Pu 共kN兲 Pu / P y It follows from Figs. 5共a and b兲 that the design strengths 共P1兲
1 823 60.5 72.5 0.388 are significantly lower than the test strengths at short and inter-
2 1,227 90.2 58.3 0.312 mediate lengths. The reason is partly that the torsional 共local兲
3 1,227 90.2 60.1 0.322 buckling mode is accounted for in determining the Pn and M n
4 1,227 90.2 65.0 0.348 capacities, as well as in determining the effective area 共Ae兲, as
5 1,636 120.2 48.4 0.259 mentioned in the “Introduction.” It could be considered to ac-
6 1,636 120.2 52.1 0.279 count for the torsional mode in calculating Pn and M n and then
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7 1,636 120.2 59.2 0.317
Proposed Design Procedure for Angles with Slender
Legs
General Design Approach
In the following development of a suitable design model for
angles with slender legs, the focus is on the torsional buckling
mode, the effective width calculation of angles in bending, and
the eccentricity required to account for the effect of the shift in
the effective centroid. The design strength calculations are based
on the measured cross-section dimensions and mechanical prop-
erties given in Table 1, and account for the roundedness of the
corners.
The design strength obtained using the current provisions of
the NAS Specification and AS/NZS4600 are compared with the
test results detailed in Tables 2 and 3 in Figs. 5共a and b兲 for the
Wilhoite et al. 共1984兲 and Popovic et al. 共1999兲 angles, respec-
tively. The design strength is shown as the P1 curve in both fig-
ures. It considers the minor axis flexural and the flexural–
torsional buckling modes in calculating the elastic column
buckling stress Fe = min兵␴ey , Fext其, and determines the bending
strength 共M n兲 based on the flexural–torsional buckling capacity
according to Eqs. 共8兲–共10兲. The section modulus 共Se兲 is based on
an effective section calculated using k = 0.43. Since the columns
were treated as loaded through the gross section centroid
共e P = 0兲, the eccentricity is calculated according to Eq. 共14兲 as
ee + eL, where ee is the distance between the centroids of the gross
using the full area rather the effective area. However, this ap-
proach would lead to conservative strengths at short lengths, since
it would not incorporate the postlocal buckling strength of unstiff-
ened elements. A more efficient approach is therefore to ignore
the torsional mode in determining Pn and M n, and to use the
effective area in calculating Pn. This implies that the elastic buck-
ling stress 共Fe兲 shall be taken as the minor axis flexural buckling
stress 共␴ey兲, and the bending capacity becomes the section capac-
ity determined according to Eq. 共11兲. All design models investi-
gated here onwards will be based on this approach.
The new design models 共P2 , P3 , … , P9兲 are defined in Table 4.
The main features of the P2–P5 models are that 共1兲 they ignore
torsional buckling in determining the buckling strength 共Pn兲 and
the bending capacity 共M n兲 and 共2兲 the section modulus 共Se兲 is
based on effective widths determined using a buckling coefficient
of k = 0.43, which is the current conservative approach of the NAS
Specification and AS/NZS4600 for unstiffened elements under
stress gradient. Various loading eccentricities 共e兲 are considered,
including e = ee + eL, e = ee, e = eL, and e = 0. The design strengths
are compared with the Wilhoite et al., and Popovic et al. test
strengths in Figs. 5共a and b兲, respectively.
The design model P2 is the same as P1 except that torsional
buckling is ignored in determining Pn and M n. It can be seen from
Figs. 5共a and b兲 that a lower strength curve in fact results from
ignoring torsion, which is because even though the axial capacity
共Pn兲 is substantially enhanced, the shift of the effective centroid
共ee兲 is also increased, as it is calculated at the enhanced buckling
stress, and the combined effect is such that the interaction Eq.

Table 3. Test Strengths Reported by Popovic et al. 共1999兲; Py = 88.7 kN, ry = 9.94 mm
Tests Test number Le 共mm兲a Le / r y Pu 共kN兲 Pu / P y
Pin ended 1 459 46.2 41.7 0.466
2 458 46.1 47.2 0.528
3 676 68.0 35.2 0.394
4 676 68.0 40.1 0.448
5 862 86.7 30.9 0.345
6 863 86.8 47.5 0.531
7 1,088 109.5 25.1 0.280
8 1,088 109.5 32.1 0.359
9 1,285 129.3 17.7 0.198
10 1,286 129.4 24.7 0.276
Fixed ended 1 75 7.5 71.4 0.798
2 275 27.7 54.0 0.604
3 485 48.8 41.5 0.464
4 690 69.4 37.0 0.414
5 874 87.9 31.3 0.350
6 1,100 110.6 26.4 0.295
7 1,299 130.7 22.3 0.249
a
Le includes the end bearing dimensions for the pin-ended tests, and is half the specimen length for the fixed-ended tests.

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J. Struct. Eng., 2005, 131(10): 1553-1560

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Fig. 6. 共a兲 Comparison of design strengths 共P5–P9兲 with tests on

Wilhoite et al. 共1984兲 equal-leg angle section and 共b兲 comparison of
design strengths 共P5–P9兲 with tests on Popovic et al. 共1999兲 equal-leg
Fig. 5. 共a兲 Comparison of design strengths 共P1–P5兲 with tests on
angle section
Wilhoite et al. 共1984兲 equal-leg angle section and 共b兲 comparison of
design strengths 共P1–P5兲 with tests on Popovic et al. 共1999兲 equal-leg
angle section
compared with the test results. The P3 strength curve branches off
the column strength curve when the section become nonfully ef-
共16兲 leads to a slightly lower value of P. If the additional eccen-
fective, which occurs at L / ry values of 148 and 140 for the Wil-
tricity 共eL = L / 1 , 000兲 is omitted 共P3兲, 共eL is the additional eccen-
hoite et al. 共1984兲 and Popovic et al. 共1999兲 angles, respectively.
tricity imposed on slender angles in the NAS Specification and
As the length decreases from these points, the effect of the shift of
AS/NZS4600兲, the strength curve is raised in the intermediate
the effective centroid 共ee兲 is greater than the increase in axial
length range and is slightly above one of the Popovic et al. test
capacity 共Pn兲 and the strength initially decreases as the length
points at an L / ry value of 129. The strength curve drops initially
decreases. If the eccentricity is taken as eL共P4兲, i.e., the effect of
with decreasing length where it branches off the column strength
the shift in the effective centroid is accounted for by virtue of eL
curve 共P5兲 and becomes increasingly conservative at short lengths
rather than ee, the strength curve is significantly increased and, in
fact, provides an accurate estimate of the test strengths. However,
Table 4. Summary of Design Models this agreement is coincidental, since it is a result of a very con-
servative estimate of the bending capacity 共M n兲 based on k
Compression Bending
= 0.43 which compensates for the fact that the eccentricity 共eL兲
Design model Fe Mn e be underestimates the effect of the shift of the effective centroid at
a
P1 min兵␴ey , F0xt其 S cF c ee + eL k = 0.43
short lengths where eL → 0. If the columns were designed as con-
centrically loaded struts 共P5兲, the strength curve is clearly higher
P2 ␴ey S eF y ee + eL k = 0.43
than the test strengths, thus emphasizing that the effect of the shift
P3 ␴ey S eF y ee k = 0.43
in the effective centroid needs to be accounted for.
P4 ␴ey S eF y eL k = 0.43
Figs. 6共a and b兲 show similar comparisons to those shown in
P5 ␴ey S eF y 0 — Figs. 5共a and b兲 except that the section modulus of the effective
P6 ␴ey S eF y ee + eL k,␳ from Eqs. 共17兲,共18兲 section in bending 共Se兲 is based on the accurate effective width
P7 ␴ey S eF y ee k,␳ from Eqs. 共17兲,共18兲 Eqs. 共17兲 and 共18兲, by which the Wilhoite et al. 共1984兲 and Pop-
P8 ␴ey S eF y eL k,␳ from Eqs. 共17兲,共18兲 ovic et al. 共1999兲 test sections become fully effective in bending.
P9 ␴ey S eF y e0 k,␳ from Eqs. 共17兲,共18兲 The design models are denoted by P6–P9 and defined in Table 4.
a
Current NAS and AS/NZS4600 design model. It follows that P6⬃P2, P7⬃P3, and P8⬃P4, except for the differ-

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J. Struct. Eng., 2005, 131(10): 1553-1560

 ence in M n, while P9 is based on the accurate calculation of the P e0 P
shift in the effective centroid 共e0兲 given by Eq. 共23兲. A sample + =1 共25兲
Pn0 M n
calculation of the P9 design strength for one of the angle columns
tested by Wilhoite et al. 共1984兲 is included in Appendix III of where Pn0 = AeFy with Ae based on Fy. Thus
Rasmussen 共2003兲. It follows from Figs. 6共a and b兲 that the P6
Pn0,r = ␤Pn0 共26兲
and P7 strength curves are significantly higher than their P2 and
P3 counterparts but remain conservative because the shift of the where the reduction factor ␤
effective centroid 共ee兲 is overestimated. The design model P8 now
1
becomes optimistic for a large number of test points because the ␤= 共27兲
eccentricity 共eL兲 underestimates the effect of the shift in the ef- e0 Pn0
1+
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fective centroid. Excellent agreement with the Popovic et al. Mn

共1999兲 test results is achieved when the eccentricity 共e0兲 is based
accounts for the effect of the shift of the effective centroid at short
on the accurate expression Eq. 共23兲. The Wilhoite et al. 共1984兲
lengths 共L → 0兲. For an equal-leg angle with sharp corners, ex-
test results are reasonably accurately predicted, albeit conserva-
pressions are readily derived for Pn0 and M n in terms of ␭py.
tively at intermediate lengths. This result shows that the interac-
Combining these with Eq. 共23兲, ␤ can be expressed in terms of
tion Eq. 共16兲 can accurately predict the strength of equal-leg
␭py. The resulting expression can be simplified 共Rasmussen 2003兲
angles with slender legs provided the torsional mode is ignored in
using the following slightly conservative approximation:
determining Pn and M n, the accurate effective width Eq. 共17兲 and

冦 冧
共18兲 are used for determining M n, and the shift of the effective 1 for ␭py 艋 1.22
centroid 共e0兲 is calculated using Eq. 共23兲. Equal-leg angle col- ␤= 0.68 共28兲
umns with slender legs can thus be designed using a beam– for ␭py ⬎ 1.22
共␭py − 1兲1/4
column approach with the eccentricity calculated as
Eq. 共26兲 predicts the capacity of a short length of an equal-leg
e = e0 + e P 共24兲 angle loaded through the gross section centroid. A simple column
where e0 is calculated according to Eq. 共23兲 and the loading ec-
centricity 共e P兲 is measured from the centroid of the gross cross
section, as shown in Fig. 1共d兲. It is not necessary to include the
additional eccentricity eL = L / 1 , 000 currently specified in the
American and Australian standards.
As shown in Fig. 6共b兲, the design model P9 also produces
accurate strength predictions for the Popovic et al. 共1999兲 fixed-
ended tests, except at short lengths where the tests strengths are
significantly higher than the design curve because the shift in the
effective centroid does not induce overall bending in fixed-ended
columns 共Rasmussen and Hancock 1993兲. In fact, it could have
been expected that the fixed-ended test points would lie close to
the P5 pure column design curve. However, the P5 curve has been
calibrated for columns failing by flexural buckling while slender
angle section columns fail by flexural–torsional buckling at short
and intermediate lengths. Furthermore, it is not clear whether the
effective length concept is readily applicable to columns failing
primarily by torsion at short lengths. The comparison shown in
Fig. 6共b兲 demonstrates that fixed-ended slender angle section col-
umns cannot simply be designed as concentrically loaded col-
umns using the strength curve for flexural buckling. The design
model P9 works well for the Popovic et al. 共1999兲 section but
becomes conservative for fixed-ended equal-leg angle columns
with more slender cross sections.

Design Approach for Concentrically Loaded

Columns

Design Approach for Concentrically Loaded Columns

While an accurate design model thus has been achieved, which is
in line with the NAS Specification and AS/NZS4600, the model
leads to a relative involved beam–column design calculation for
the common case where the load is applied at the centroid of the
gross cross section 共e P = 0兲. It is possible to obtain a more direct Fig. 7. 共a兲 Comparison of column design strength 共Pn,r = ␤Pn兲 with
column design approach for this case, as follows: In the limit L tests on Wilhoite et al. 共1984兲 equal-leg angle section and 共b兲 com-
→ 0, the interaction Eq. 共16兲 for a column loaded through the parison of column design strength 共Pn,r = ␤Pn兲 with tests on Popovic
gross section centroid reduces to et al. 共1999兲 equal-leg angle section

JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / OCTOBER 2005 / 1559

J. Struct. Eng., 2005, 131(10): 1553-1560

 design procedure can now be obtained by assuming that the re-
duction factor 共␤兲 applies over the full range of lengths, i.e.
Pn,r = ␤Pn 共29兲
where ␤ is given by Eq. 共28兲 and Pn is obtained as FnAe with Ae
based on the buckling stress Fn. A sample calculation of the Pn,r
design strength for one of the angle columns tested by Wilhoite et
al. 共1984兲 is included in Appendix III of Rasmussen 共2003兲. The
design strength 共Pn,r兲 is compared with the Wilhoite et al. 共1984兲
and Popovic et al. 共1999兲 tests in Figs. 7共a and b兲, respectively. It
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follows from the figures that the column design strength Pn,r is in
close agreement with the beam–column design model proposed in
this paper, and is in good agreement with the test strengths.
Conclusions
The paper summarizes the elastic local, flexural, torsional, and
flexural–torsional buckling modes of slender equal-leg angle sec-
tions, and emphasizse their interdependency. Various design mod-
els have been compared with tests by systematically changing the
choice of critical overall buckling mode, the effective width equa-
tion, and the loading eccentricity. It is shown that an accurate
design model can be achieved by:
1. ignoring torsional buckling in determining the compression
and bending member strengths;
2. adopting recently reported effective width equations for un-
stiffened elements under stress gradient for calculating the
flexural section capacity; and
3. determining the shift of the effective centroid from a simple
expression that is based on the actual postbuckling stress
distribution.
The design model has been shown to be in good agreement
with tests on pin-ended slender equal-leg angle columns loaded
through the gross section centroid or with a small eccentricity
from the gross section centroid. The design model is also shown
to provide accurate strength predictions for fixed-ended slender
angle columns, except at short lengths where the design strength
prediction becomes conservative.
The paper focuses on slender equal-leg angle section columns
loaded concentrically or eccentrically relative to the gross section
centroid. The proposed accurate design model is based on a
beam–column approach and requires calculation of the axial and
bending capacities. A simple design model is proposed for the
common case where the column is concentrically loaded through
the gross section centroid. The model applies a reduction factor to
the pure column design strength and does not require calculation
of the bending capacity nor the use of an interaction equation.
In Rasmussen 共2003兲, the design model presented herein is
extended to the design of slender unequal-leg angle columns.
1560 / JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / OCTOBER 2005
J. Struct. Eng., 2005, 131(10): 1553-1560
Equations are provided for determining the shift of the effective
centroid in the directions of the principal axes based on the actual
postbuckling stress distribution. The interaction equation for bi-
axial bending is used as the basis for the design model.
Acknowledgments
This paper was prepared while the writer was on study leave at
the University of Trento. The facilities provided by the University
of Trento are gratefully appreciated. Thanks also go to Professor
Gregory Hancock for his comments to the manuscript.
References
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